Zangris
"The agenda of the Zangris from moment to moment is largely unknown, ever changing to suit the order's needs, but one overriding aspiration stands higher than the rest. The Zangris claim to serve balance above all, bringing about change where they see needed with a swift and merciless, but utterly precise strike. They claim that there is order in chaos, and a world in balance cannot exist without it. The order's true goal is to forever be that balancing force, bringing evil where it is needed and darkness where it is light." The Zangris, also known as the Brotherhood of the Fang, is an ancient order of elite assassins whose over-zealous beliefs and exceptional martial prowess make them an outstandingly deadly and rightfully feared force among the lands of Vandea. The Zangris' existence is only known by an uncommon few, as the order regards utmost secrecy among its highest tenets. Though unseen and almost unnoticed, the works of the Zangris assassins have impacted the history of the upper kingdoms in subtle yet relatively significant ways. Infiltration and assassination are the order's primary tactics, preferring a hard-handed approach to achieving their goals, though they are not beyond subterfuge and manipulation. An excerpt from the tomes of Daedris Valrun Cormyr, III, renowned sage of the arcane city of Mathas in Illvas (Travels Most Great, Chapter 14, Section 5): In my many decades of travel, I have seen few orders so unknown yet so powerful as the Brotherhood of the Fang - and no order as deadly. The Zangris, as the ancient texts in the Spiral Library refer to them, are a thousand year-old order of dangerous assassins whose one goal is to reshape the world according to their misguided belief of a greater good, a belief that has stemmed from the order’s founding, and they are willing to execute any means possible to accomplish it. Their dedication to this belief borders on fanaticsm, and it is seeded and cultivated from the very first years of life. The recruits are then rigorously trained for most of their young lives in the art of assassination, an art best suited to carry out the order’s agenda, among other crafts I have yet to discern. The capabilities in open combat of a Zangris assassin rival that of the best crownshields in the Menoran royal guard, warriors trained their whole lives for the singular noble purpose of protecting the crown. The Zangris, however, prefer to conduct their warfare from the shadows, and more often than not, one will never be able to tell they were even there. Not that it matters much which way one fights them, for almost all that have had the misfortunate of crossing a Zangris are either dead or worse. Over the years in my studies, I have discovered that the order has in one way or another influenced most of the major events of the world, silently waiting for the most opportune moment and tipping the scales in their interests, usually done with a single well-placed dagger. The Zangris holds the belief that change cannot come all at once, for many reasons, and while a single dagger can turn a war, it cannot change the world. It is a waiting game for the Zangris, and the assassin above all knows patience. However, not all of the order’s qualities are so deserving of praise. The order is a cunning one, but prideful. Though it is not unheard of that the Zangris have made effective if unsteady alliances throughout its history, they prefer to almost always operate alone, which I believe is to the world’s favor. A Zangris assassin believes himself superior over any outsider, and sees alliances as a temporary means to accomplish his goals. He sees himself as utterly capable, and his cohorts as mere tools. This arrogant attitude paired with their unethical treatment has made the order many detractors, but most do not speak out against them out of fear for losing their tongues. Indeed, anyone that would be so bold to openly oppose the Zangris is, more often than not, a dead fool, understandably so - unless of course they are Ada'rin. An assassin order created not long after the Zangris’ founding those many centuries ago, the Ada'rin, or the Order of Spades as it is referred to in the more modern texts I have come across, stands as the one great enemy of the Brotherhood of the Fang. Founded by an excommunicated member of the Brotherhood, the Ada'rin carry the identical traits and techniques of it’s darker counterpart, with the exception of the defining goal behind them. And that goal, I have learned time and time again, is to put an end once and for all to the Zangris. The two have been battling for over a millennium in an eternal struggle of wit and blade, endlessly triumphing over one another with no clear victor. One keeps the other at bay, and that I believe, at least for the moment, is for the best. For though its cause is a noble one, I still cast a measure of doubt on the Order of Spades, for many reasons, primary among which is its capacity to do evil and its tendency to forget its morals if it meant dealing a blow to the Zangris, however small. This spoken, the Zangris and the Ada'rin, mortal enemies unlike each other in so many ways, are the same in this. And it is this that worries me dearly. - Daedris Valrun Cormyr, III, Sage of Mathas